Legacies
by XxRoseAngelxX
Summary: sequel to And It All Started. The Sohmas abandon Tohru, but what happens when a child appears one day, claiming to be Kyo's? Will Tohru be reunited with the Sohmas? Completed!
1. Disappearance

'No! Please! This can't be!' yelled Tohru as she dashed from room to room, looking inside as she ran along. 'Please, no!'

As the doors opened and closed all around her, she was filled with a sense of sadness and panic. She couldn't find them. _They wouldn't just leave! They wouldn't do that!_

Then she came to the end of the hall, where Kyo's room was. She stood in front of it, her eyes filled with tears. Slowly, she raised her shaking hand to the door and swung it open. Tohru closed her eyes and stepped inside the room. She opened her eyes. All of the furniture was there, but there was no sign of Kyo, Yuki, or Shigure. It looked as if there had not been anyone in the room for at least three days.

Tohru let out a small cry of horror and stepped backwards, tripping. As she fell, she saw a little note left on Kyo's bed. She immediately picked herself up and tore the note off the bed. She read it, over and over again, trying to make sense of what was happening. Finally, she threw the note back onto the bed and ran out, sobbing uncontrollably. The note said :

_**Dear Tohru,**_

_**I'm sorry it has to be this way. We've left, and you probably shouldn't expect to see us ever again. It's impossible for us to stay here any longer with you. The more we stay, the more we feel as if our lives are worth nothing.**_

_**Don't come after us. We want nothing to do with you anymore. Good bye forever.**_

_**- Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Sohma**_


	2. Three Years Later

**_XxxXThreeYearsLaterXxxXThreeYearsLaterXxxXThreeYearsLaterXxxX_**

'Tohru-chan! Let's go! We're going to be late!' yelled Uo as she snatched Tohru by the arm and dragged her off to the restaurant.

Tohru smiled. 'Okay! Sorry I was late. I had to take care of some business.'

'Don't worry about it! You know we could never get fired! The manager adores you waaaayy too much for _that_ to happen!'

'Um..By the way, where's Hana-chan?' asked Tohru, looking around.

There was no sign of Hanajima anywhere. Usually she would walk with Uotani and Tohru to their job at the restaurant, where they were currently waitresses.

Uotani looked around as well. 'Hmph. Now that you mention it, she left me a message this morning. Something about a kid that she had to take care of or something..'

'A child?' asked Tohru, slowing her pace slightly. 'Maybe we should skip work and go help her!'

'Nah. We'll go after. I'm sure she's handling it fine on her own. And besides, you know her. She'll be okay.'

**_XxxXHanaPOVXxxXThreeHoursBeforeXxxXHanasPOVXxxXThreeHoursBeforeXxxX_**

From the moment that Hanajima woke up, she knew that she would be getting an unexpected visitor soon. She got dressed and waited patiently in her living room, listening for footsteps outside.

Finally, she heard them. They were not heavy footsteps, but those of a child, maybe a teenager. And a very stealthy teenager, at that. Whoever was outside the house, they were making sure that no average person could hear them approach. But of course, as we know, Hanajima is not exactly _average._

Hanajima was beginning to become impatient. The person was looking around the house, trying to find an easy way in. And because they could not find one, they were beginning to get panicky. Hanajima could feel it in their waves. So she stood, walked swiftly to the door, and swung it open. In a very calm voice, she said, 'Can you please stop trying to find a way to break into my home? It would have been easier for you to knock on the door.'

Standing there, obviously frightened by Hanajima's sudden appearance, was a small - looking fourteen year old girl. She soon composed herself enough to look directly into Hanajima's eyes. And what Hana saw made her take an involuntary step backwards. Her eyes. _Her eyes are exactly like his..._

The girl spoke softly, as if she were scared, 'Hanajima Saki?'

Hanajima nodded slowly. Then the girl lost all composure and flew into Hana, almost making her lose her balance. 'Who are you, little one?' She asked the question, even though she was almost positive that she knew the answer. And although Hana had no clue how this was possible, she knew it was right.

The girl stopped sobbing long enough to look up at Hanajima again. 'S-Sohma Masaki.'


	3. Stories

Hanajima sighed for about the third time in two minutes. She glanced up at the worried Masaki, sitting on the other side of the room. _What is going on...?_

'Masaki-san.'

Masaki looked up. 'Y-yes?'

'Who are your parents?'

The girl began to fidget and move around. She was obviously nervous. Hanajima asked again, 'Who are your parents, Masaki-san?'

'You won't believe me,' mumbled Masaki. She was looking straight at the ground now, and there were tears beginning to form in her eyes. 'You'll think I'm crazy, and then you'll kick me out, and no one will help me.'

Hanajima put a reassuring hand on Masaki's shoulder. She tried her best to smile, but the truth was that she was far too worried. 'I promise I won't kick you out. Now please tell me.'

Masaki took a deep breath. 'Sohma Kyo..'

Hana knew that much. She could tell from the first moment that she saw Masaki's eyes. They were exactly the same as Kyo's. And her hair, although it was more brown than orange, also slightly resembled Kyo's. But Kyo was far too young to have a fourteen year old. Maybe Kyo's father had another child. _Yes, that must be it._

'..and Honda Tohru.'

'_What?!'_

Hanajima stood up. That was not possible. Tohru had not been with Kyo since the Sohmas abandoned her three years before. And plus, this child was fourteen. Even if she _was_ the child of Kyo and Tohru, the two didn't even know each other for that long. Fourteen years! No. Everything was impossible.

Then Masaki began to cry. 'I knew it! I knew you wouldn't believe me!'

For the next few minutes, the only sound that could be heard was the quiet sobbing of Masaki. Hana felt some pity for her. _She must be confused. Someone lied to her about who her real parents are.._

'Masaki-san, listen to me. It's not that I don't believe you..It's just that what you tell me is simply not possible. There's no way. Have you ever lived with your parents?'

The teenager nodded. 'I did until that..that _thing_ came and took away papa! It was horrible and no one could help him!'

'Can you describe your parents to me?' Hanajima asked. She was going to get to the bottom of this. It's not like she could just leave this child on the street.

Masaki thought for a moment. Then she replied, 'Well papa had bright orange hair, and sometimes he had a quick temper, but he taught me to fight and everything! And mama..well she was kinda..out there. But she was really loving and she was always happy no matter what! And even though she sometimes did stupid things, I could tell that papa never stopped loving her. Or me.' Tears came to her eyes.

Then Hana realized something. 'Masaki-san, why are you speaking in the past tense about your parents? Did something..happen to them?'

Now there were silent tears running down Masaki's face. She nodded and stared up at Hanajima. In an eerily quiet voice, she said, 'The monster took papa...and then..they hurt mama..and I tried to heal her..but..I..I couldn't..'

'You're not from here, are you?'

Masaki shook her head. 'No. I'm not even from this realm. That's why none of this makes sense to you.'

And then Hanajima knew. She had to find Tohru and..._No. I can't find Kyo. Not after what he did to Tohru. I can figure this out._


	4. Panic

Tohru reached for the house phone from her apartment, glancing at the caller ID. Her and Arisa had just gotten back from work, and they were starting to become worried about Hanajima. They hadn't heard from her for the entire day. Until now, that is. 'Ah! It's Hana-chan!'

But just when Tohru was about to pick up the phone, Arisa snatched it away, so fast that Tohru didn't even see it, which left her sitting there with a confused look upon her face. 'Wha..? Where did the phone go? Phone..? Where did you go..?'

Arisa was already screaming into the phone. 'Hanajima Saki! _What is your deal?!_ We have been worried sick, and you didn't even have enough consideration to ca-'

'**Arisa! Stop! We have an issue! A **_**big**_** issue! I have Tohru's child!**'

'W-what did you say?' stammered Arisa, her face turning pale as she continued to listen to Hanajima.

There was an audible sigh at the other end of the phone. '**You heard me. Tohru'a child. Yes, Arisa! Child! Offspring! **_**Daughter**_**!'**

**'**But that can't be true! Do you know how impossible that is? It's impossible! This is a trick!'

'**I wish it were. I really do. But it's the truth. I looked into Masaki's mind. Everything she says is true. We're coming over in ten minutes. Don't tell Tohru anything yet.**' And the call was ended, leaving Arisa with a shocked look upon her face. She turned her head slowly to look at Tohru, who was still searching valiantly for the mysterious disappearing phone. She cried in delight when she saw that it was in Arisa's hand. But then she caught sight of Arisa's face. 'Uo-chan? Is something wrong?'

Arisa forced a smile. 'Everything's fine, Tohru-chan. But Hana-chan is coming over.'

'Okay!'

And as Arisa watched Tohru fix up the apartment and make tea, a wave of sadness washed over her. _If what Hana says is true..Then things aren't gonna be the same..Things are gonna be different..But I suppose that there's nothing I can do._

**_XxxXHanajimaTimeXxxXHanajimaTimeXxxXHanajimaTimeXxxXHanajimaTimeXxxXHanajimaTimeXxxXHanajimaTimeXxxXHanajimaTimeXxxX_**

There was an uncomfortable silence as Hanajima and Masaki drove to Tohru's apartment. Masaki glanced up slowly. 'Hanajima-san? Can you really help me?'

Hanajima fidgeted behind the wheel of the car. She looked at Masaki as she said, 'I don't know how much _I_ can help you, but I have a strong feeling that Tohru can help.'

The small teenager perked up at the mention of Tohru's name. 'Mama? We're going to see mama? What about papa? Can we see him, too?'

More fidgeting. 'Masaki-san..Your father..He..'

But Masaki already got the point. 'He's not around, is he?'

'No. I'm sorry. We don't know what happened, but the Sohmas suddenly disappeared about three years ago. Their estate was abandoned and no one saw any trace of them leave. It was like they just..faded away. Tohru was devastated. Me and Arisa didn't know how to help her, because we knew how much she loved Kyo. But we just tried to keep her going, and tried to help her get back into her old life. Eventually she became better. And no matter how much I try to find the Sohmas mind waves, theres no trace. But I know that they did not leave because they wanted to.'

'You mean someone took them away..Like someone took away papa..'

Hana's eyes grew wide and she slammed on the brakes before turning to Masaki. 'That's it! I bet they're connected! The way that your father disappeared and how the Sohmas disappeared!'

'You mean that we can save papa?'

Hanajima got out of the car and ran to the door of Tohru's apartment, with Masaki trailing behind her. The two barged into the apartment, and Tohru looked up, surprised. She was about to say hello when she caught sight of Masaki.

The little girl's eyes welled up with tears and she threw herself at Tohru. 'Mama!'

Tohru stared down at the fourteen year old in her arms. 'Mama?'


	5. Abduction

No one dared speak. Tohru kept looking from the girl in her arms to her two friends. Everyone was looking at Tohru. She asked again, 'Mama?'

Masaki hugged Tohru tighter. 'Please don't think I'm crazy. I can explain everything.' Then she looked straight up into Tohru's eyes, tears already forming. 'You can help me.'

'Let's all sit down and let Masaki explain,' said Hanajima. She could sense that Tohru was not angry, and that was a good sign. But then again, Tohru was never angry. Just confused. And at this point, she was _really_ confused. Everyone sat down and Masaki began to explain.

'Well..My name is Sohma Masaki.' She stopped and looked at Tohru for a reaction. Tohru's face was a blank stare of pure shock.

'S-Sohma?'

Masaki nodded. 'Yes. Sohma. But I'm not from here. Quite literally, in fact. I'm from another realm. One where you,' she pointed to Tohru, 'and Kyo made' she pointed to herself, 'me.'

Tohru stared for a moment longer before saying, 'So you don't know where the Sohmas are in this realm, do you..'

'No. She doesn't. Not even _I_ can pick up _any_ of their brain waves. But we need to find them' said Hanajima.

'Why?'

Masaki answered 'Because if you and him are together in this realm, it will put things right again in my realm. Something..bad happened to Kyo in my realm. Something _very_ bad. And something even worse happened to you.'

'Bad?'

'Yes. Kyo got taken away by a monster and..and it hurt you..and when I tried to heal you..you..' Masaki looked down.

But Tohru got the point. 'I died..?'

Masaki nodded, still not lifting her head. Hanajima continued, 'If you count in the time that it took Masaki to travel through realms, her father was abducted about three years ago, which matches up to the time when the Sohmas disappeared.'

Throughout the discussion, Arisa had sat quietly, listening. This was the first time she spoke. 'Disappeared? No. The Sohmas _left_.'

Hanajima turned to face her. 'No. They _disappeared_. I am now thoroughly convinced that the Sohmas, Kyo included, were forced to leave against their will. And unless _you_ are the one with psychic abilities, I strongly suggest that you be quiet.'

That made Arisa settle back down, knowing that she had been beaten. Hanajima resumed, 'Now then. We're going to start at the Sohma estate and try to figure out where they might have g-.' She stopped halfway through the sentence and looked towards the door, her eyes wide. Arisa stood up.

'Hana-chan? What's wrong?!'

Hanajima screamed, 'Get down! Everyone, now!'

There was a deafening crash as the front door of Tohru's apartment came crashing down. The noise and debris made everyone duck for cover underneath furniture. Through the dust was the faint outline of a man. Tohru gasped when she saw the face.

'K-Kureno?!'

He looked down at Tohru. 'Ah, Tohru-chan! How have you been? Well, there's no time for reminiscing, I have a job to do!' With a wide smile on his face, he walked over to where a trembling Masaki lay under the coffee table. With one swift movement, Kureno lifted the coffee table, snatched up Masaki, and was out the door.

'No!' yelled Tohru as she began to run towards the door. Hanajima dove and grabbed her arm.

'No! Let him go so we can see where the Sohmas went!'

'But why did he take Masaki-chan?!'

Hanajima sighed and looked down at the floor before she looked back up at Tohru. 'Masaki is the new spirit of the cat.'


	6. Kureno's Mistake

Masaki was floating in nothingness. Everything in her mind was a blank slate, and she was happy with it. She couldn't remember who she was or what she was doing here, but just floating filled her with a joy she had never known before. Then, the scene around her began to change and before she knew it, Masaki was looking down at another scene.

There was a small teenage girl laying on a bed, looking very worn and surprised. She seemed to be unconcious. Sitting next to the bed was a man in his mid-twenties with golden hair and charming eyes. Every few seconds he would replace the wet towel on the girl's forehead to make sure it stayed warm. He looked down at the girl with pity and sadness. Masaki felt that the man was not evil, just misunderstood.

The man spoke. 'I'm sorry, little one. I didn't mean to harm you. I didn't even wanna capture you. But things are difficult...' He sat down and took the small girl's hand. '..for both of us.'

Masaki started in surprise when she felt something warm close around her hand. It was like someone was holding it. Was it that man? Was she the girl lying unconscious? Possibly. But in Masaki's current state of mind, there were endless possibilities. She could fly, soar high above the scene that she was witnessing and not have a care in the world. What was the world, anyway?

She stopped soaring around mindlessly when she heard the door open beneath her. A person stepped into the room, but they were wearing a cloak with the hood up, so Masaki could not see their face. As she watched from overhead, the person shuffled towards the man and ushered for him to rise. The man obliged. Then the person spoke.

'Kureno, is that the cat child from the other realm?'

The man called Kureno nodded. 'Yes, I just captured her.'

'Where was she?'

Kureno hesitated, and the cloaked person raised their hand to slap him. Masaki's eyes slightly widened when she saw the hand of the cloaked person. It was highly deformed, and it looked as if it had scales on it. They were a purple-black color, the kind of color that made your heart sink with dread. The hand made contact with Kureno's cheek, sending him reeling back a few steps. 'Now maybe you will speak without hesitations. Now, where was the monster when you found her?'

'She was with her mother.'

This obviously surprised the cloaked person, for they gave a snort of disbelief. Masaki concluded that the person must be very ugly, for the snort was more of a roar. She shivered at the thought of seeing what was under the cloak. This was quickly turning into a nightmare.

'Her mother? But I killed her mother!'

'I mean her mother in this realm. The Honda Tohru that lives here.'

'What? I was positive that she would not want anything to do with a Sohma after what Kyo "did" to her! I suppose she will try to interfere now. Get rid of her, Kureno. For good. And get rid of anyone who tries to interfere.' The person began to shuffle towards the door.

Kureno stood there for a moment, completely stunned by the order that he had just been given. He took a long look at the unconscious girl and then managed to say, 'We..We don't have to kill Tohru. There's no way she'll ever get into here, so there's really no need for her to die or be harmed.'

The cloaked person stopped suddenly. 'You've gotten soft in the three years that we've been apart, Kureno. I don't like it. You _will_ kill Honda Tohru, or else your life will be sacrificed in place of hers.'

Kureno was now horrified out of his mind. But he didn't dare let it show. 'Yes...Akito-sama.'

From where she floated a few feet above, Masaki could hear everything. And that includes what Kureno had just said. Masaki gasped and screamed at the top of her lungs. She remembered everything. All of a sudden, she felt a terrible sensation like she was being sucked into a black hole. She was being dragged towards the girl in the bed. She closed her eyes and screamed again, and not only because of the horrible feeling that she was experiencing. It was for the name. The name that had horrified her for so much time. The person who had kidnapped her father and killed her mother. Sohma Akito was to blame for everything.

XxxXxxXxxXTwentyMinutesLaterXxxXxxXxxX

Masaki opened her eyes slowly, for the light stung her eyes. Finally, she adjusted to the light and opened her eyes completely, seeing the worried face of Kureno staring down at her. 'Are you alright?'

'I..I think so..'. And then Masaki remembered her dream and decided to find out if it was really a dream or not. 'Umm..Kureno-san?'

Kureno blinked twice. 'How did you know my name? You've been knocked out ever since I brought you here..'

'Then it wasn't a dream!' yelled Masaki as she shot up, making her head pound uncontrollably. 'Nothing was a dream! Was there a person in here a little while ago?'

'Er..yes..'

Masaki's face drained of all it's color when she heard this. Akito had really been here. And he had told Kureno to kill Tohru. Masaki began to cry and yell. 'Please Kureno-san! Please don't kill Tohru-chan! Please! I heard what Akito told you to do and I'm begging you, please, don't do it! You can get away from Akito and he'll never know that you didn't do it!!' She was talking so fast that Kureno had trouble understanding what exactly she was saying. Then he finally understood and just stared down at Masaki. She had calmed down. 'Please, Kureno-san. I know you're not a bad person. I can sense it. But Akito is making you do bad things and act like you don't care about anyone..Please..Help me. Help Tohru-chan. Help _yourself_.'

Kureno stood up and walked to a nearby window. He stared outside for a long time before answering. 'Masaki. Everyday the maid will come to clean your room at exactly 10:30 in the morning. When she comes tomorrow, I want you to sneak past her, because that's the only time that your door will be unlocked. When you get out of the room, I want you to run straight down the hall to your left, make two rights, and go to the courtyard garden. Everyday at 10:35 I am in the garden. I will help you.'

The tears flooded to Masaki's eyes again. She jumped out of the bed and ran over to Kureno, hugging him. 'Thank you, Kureno-san! Thank you so much!'

But in the back of Kureno's mind, he knew that nothing would go completely smooth tomorrow. Someone would lose their life trying to escape, and he would do whatever it took to make sure that it wasn't Masaki's that was lost. 'You're welcome, little one. I think I'll call you chibi-Tohru.'

They both smiled for real for the first time in the past three years.


	7. The Birdy

'So what are we going to do?' asked Arisa softly. She was looking out of the window of the now-ruined apartment. Hanajima had finished explaining the situation to her about ten minutes ago. This explanation had included facts avout the sodiac curse and what part Masaki held in it, which was also the place that Kyo had held in it a few years before. Arisa had not spoken in the ten minutes, horrified at how terrible she had been to Kyo, not knowing how much he was struggling.

Hanajima looked up at her. 'I don't know. We have to try to find the Sohmas somehow. Because the chances are that if we find Masaki and Kureno, then we can find Kyo and the others. Like I said, the Sohmas did not leave on their own. They were forced. And I, for one, would like to find out why. But we have no leads as to where Kureno took Masaki. He left no trail, and he's able to shield his mind very well, so I can't hone in on it.'

Ever since Kureno had left with Masaki, Tohru had been sitting in one corner of the room, closely examining her feet. She was in an almost dreamlike state. As Hanajima spoke, she looked up slowly, making Arisa flinch away slightly. 'Tohru! Your eyes..' Tohru's eyes were a dull golden shade.

Immediately, Hanajima was by her side. 'Tohru-chan, what's wrong?'

Tohru stared up at Hanajima like a child would look up at their older sibling. Then she reached for a piece of rope and began to fiddle it around her fingers. 'It told me where Masaki-chan is..'

'Who told you where Masaki is?' asked Hanajima.

'The birdy..'

Arisa looked at Tohru curiously. 'A bird?'

'Mhm..The birdy came and got on my shoulder and told me that it would lead me to where Masaki-chan is. It told me to stand outside and wait for her to come out, and then run away..'

'Tohru..' Arisa stopped and placed her hand on Tohru's shoulder. 'Let's go get Masaki.' Tohru smiled dreamily at Arisa and walked towards the door.

XxxXOneHourLaterXxxXOneHourLaterXxxXOneHourLaterXxxXOneHourLaterXxxXOneHourLaterXxxX

The three girls stared up at the towering wall with a sense of triumph. The wall was surrounding a complex of houses that looked much like the Sohma estate. Tohru was still in her dream state with her golden eyes, but Hanajima and Arisa knew full well what this meant. Someone was helping them from the inside. One of the Sohmas. But who?

Arisa was now full of determination. 'Okay! Let's go get Masaki!'

'No..It's not today. The birdy said we have to come back tomorrow at 10:30 and wait ten minutes for Masaki to come out.' said Tohru slowly. She had a strangely happy smile on her face, like a child who had just gotten a good grade on their spelling test.

Arisa's jaw dropped. 'What?! So we just walked all this way to have to come back _tomorrow_?'

Tohru nodded happily.

'Well at least we know where this place is. Let's go back to my house and get some rest. I think Tohru's is going to need some work done, and we need rest if we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.'

'What's going to happen?' asked Tohru. Hanajima looked at her in shock. Her eyes were no longer golden, and she was speaking normally.

'Is the bird still there, Tohru?' asked Arisa.

'What bird?'

Hanajima smiled. 'Let's go. We'll explain on the way.'

The next morning, Hanajima, Arisa, and Tohru returned to the estate and stood outside at exactly 10:30, anxious to see what would happen. Almost 15 minutes had passed when they heard a scream coming from inside. Arisa looked at Hanajima, who nodded. Together, the three of them climbed over the wall of the estate and ran towards where the screaming was coming from.

XxxXMasakiPOVXxxXMasakiPOVXxxXMasakiPOVXxxXMasakiPOVXxxXMasakiPOVXxxXMasakiPOVXxxX

Masaki pretended to be asleep while the maid entered her room. She crossed the room and began to clean the bathroom connecting to Masaki's room. Almost as if it was instinctive, Masaki hopped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door and jamming it with a chair. 'I'm sorry!' she yelled as she ran out of the room.

She followed Kureno's directions and ran along the hallways, being careful not to attract any attention to herself. With her heart beating a million times a minute, Masaki looked around the corner of the first hall, being incredibly careful to listen for footsteps and voices. She heard nothing. Masaki wasn't even worried about meeting a regular person. She could easily subdue them and keep going. No. She was worried about meeting Akito.

Finally, after carefully examining each hallway in case she had to turn back and run, she saw a light at the end of the final hallway that led to the garden. She sighed with relief and walked outside. She paused for a moment and glanced around to make sure that no one else was there. She was alone except for a shadow in the middle of the garden. At first, Masaki was happy, thinking that the shadow was Kureno. Then she realized that the person was wearing a cloak, and her heart sank with a feeling of incredible fear washing over her.

Akito turned towards Masaki.


	8. Returns

Another shriek pierced the air as Masaki dodged another of Akito's clawed hands. Her eyes were filled with terror, and she was surprised that her body could even move because of her fear.

She scrambled out of the way of every lunge, struggling the urge to curl up in a ball and just close her eyes. Inside her mind, she was praying and begging God to send someone to save her. Kureno, anyone. _Where is Kureno?!_

Masaki was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't even see Akito's other arm fly out of the cloak and strike her. She flew across the garden and landed in a corner, and before she had time to run, Akito was in front of her. She screamed again, and tried to find a way to escape. There was none.

Her eyes were drawn to Akito's hand as he, or it, rather, drew a sharpened knife out of it's cloak. The knife was raised far above Akito's head and then brought down rapidly. Masaki gave one final shriek and closed her eyes. _This is it..I'm done.._ she thought sadly. _Everything was for nothing._

'No!'

As the word was yelled, there was another dull sound in the air as the knife met flesh. Masaki screamed and opened her eyes widely in pure surprise. The look in her eyes immediately turned to horror when she saw who was standing above her, protecting her from the deadly knife.

Tohru staggered from the pain of the knife in her back. She fell to the floor in front of Masaki, gasping. She looked up briefly and smiled innocently at Masaki. 'Are..you..alright..?'

Masaki had no time to answer, for there was a horrifying snarl as Akito leaped backwards. 'Stupid girl! I almost had her!' Then he sighed and turned to leap away. 'Ah, well. At least I got one of them.'

In a heartbeat, he was gone again. Tohru reached behind her and gently tugged the knife out of her back, wincing in pain. Masaki was relieved to see that the cut was not deep and that Tohru would most probably survive. But right now Tohru was far too weak to move. Masaki worried that Akito might come back and realize that Tohru was still alive. Then she looked around and noticed that neither Arisa nor Hanajima was nearby. She asked Tohru about it.

With great effort, Tohru pulled herself up and looked at Masaki. 'They are inside..Hana-chan sensed that something was happening inside and ran away..but I knew where you were..I just did..'

Masaki nodded. Then she remembered something. 'Oh no..Mama! If Kureno-san didn't show up here to help me, that means that something must have happened to him! _That's_ what Hanajima sensed! Akito is going after Kureno! That's how he knew I would be in the garden! He knows that Kureno-san tried to help me escape!'

But she didn't want to leave her mother alone. Tohru gave a little smile. 'Do not worry about me. I will hide in one of the bushes until you return, and then we can escape together.'

'No! They'll come back!'

There was a rustling behind Masaki, and her eyes widened in horror, thinking that it was Akito returning to finish the job. 'It's alright. I'll take care of her.'

_That voice..It's so familiar.._

Tohru gave a small cry of shock and then tears began to stream down her face. Without even having to turn around, Masaki knew who was standing behind her. She smiled weakly and felt a tear running down her ownface as she turned slowly.

Standing at the other end of the garden was Sohma Hatori, with a bag full of medical equipment in his hand. Although Tohru was overjoyed to see him, he was not the reason why she was so happy. It was the person who was with Hatori. It was Kyo.


	9. Her Father's Attitude

Masaki's jaw dropped. 'P-papa?!'

Hatori moved forward and dropped on one knee so that he was level with Masaki. He looked her in the eye. 'No, Masaki. That's what you have to remember right now. This is not your father. Well, I suppose he is, but not in this realm. Now, Tohru, are you feeling okay for the most part?'

'You mean besides the hole in her back?'

'Masaki, you're looking brighter and brighter.'

She smiled widely, the second time in a while. This entire time, Kyo was standing off to a corner, looking at Tohru. She was looking back at him. It was like they were talking to each other with their looks.

Kyo gave Tohru a look that told her how sorry he was, how he never wanted to leave, and how he still loved her, even after three years.

Tohru's look told Kyo that she forgave him, and that she would take him back into her life at any time. Masaki pretended to be listening to Hatori, but he could tell that she wasn't listening when her eyes began to fill with tears. 'You see your parents, don't you?'

She nodded. 'It's like I'm back home. That's how they always used to look at each other.'

'You don't have to worry anymore, Masaki. We're going to make things back the way they were.'

Masaki looked at Hatori with a shocked look. At that moment, a million things were running through her mind. _Back the way they were? So Papa will come back! And Mama will be alive!_ 'Can you do that, Hatori-san? Can you really do that?'

He nodded, and got up. He took Masaki's hand and led her over to where Kyo and Tohru were beginning to talk to each other. As Kyo saw Hatori approaching, his look turned to one of solemnity. 'Hatori. I think it's time we told them.'

'Told us what?' asked Tohru.

Hatori answered, 'About Akito.'

Tohru's eyes widened, like she suddenly remembered something. 'He's not the same Akito he was three years ago. When Akito died, he was happy! He was peaceful! I could feel it! He was _changed_!'

'I know, Tohru. When Akito died, the curse on the Zodiac was broken. But Akito's part of the curse could not die. It was embedded in his soul, his very being. With the good part of Akito's soul gone, the cursed part had nowhere in this realm to go. It wandered around for a couple of months, and then it picked up the Kyo in Masaki's realm. It immediately went into that realm and manifested itself in the form of the "Akito" you see today. When it killed the Tohru and Kyo in Masaki's realm, it came back for the real ones. It cannot be at peace until all of the members of the Zodiac, both in this realm _and_ the other one, are dead.'

There was silence throughout the garden, except for the occasional breeze rustling the trees. Then Masaki's eyes became wide and her hands flew to her mouth to suppress a cry of horror. 'K-kureno! He's going to kill Kureno! We have to go find him! And Hana-chan and Uo-chan! They're with him! Akito will kill them too!'

Kyo stood up and swiped a piece of hair out of his eyes. 'Okay. Hatori, take Tohru back to the house and bandage her up. I'm going to find Kureno.' Masaki stood also.

'What about me? I'm going too.'

There was a moment as Kyo looked at Masaki. 'Fine. Munchkin, let's go.' With that, he took off down the closest hallway leading into the building. Masaki scurried off after him.

'Wait for me! And my name is Masaki! Don't call me Munchkin! Argh you're annoying!'

As Tohru and Hatori watched the two disappear down the hallway, Hatori sighed. 'What's wrong, Haa-san?' asked Tohru.

'She has her father's attitude.'


	10. The Demon Inside

**sorry I haven't updated in a while! But, you know, high school's a bixnatch. But I'm back now, so I'll try and update as much as I possibly can!**

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Kyo and Masaki crept down the hallway, trying to move as quickly as possible without making too much noise. With every step that Masaki took, she began to shake more violently. She was _not_ looking forward to meeting Akito again. Kyo noticed her shaking. 'You can just go back if you're scared. I'm sure Hatori and Tohru haven't gone too far, so you can probably catch up to them.'

Masaki stopped and looked up at Kyo, at first with fear and then with anger. 'You're thinking like everyone else is. "Let's leave the child back there. She'll only be a nuisance." That's what they say. And have you _seen_ what Akito looks like these days?' Kyo was silent, which Masaki took as an answer. 'I didn't think so. Trust me, I have a reason to be scared. But I don't care. It's _my_ fault that Kureno might be killed. He tried to help _me_ escape, and now I'm going to save him, even if it might mean giving up my own life to that monster.'

With that, she took off down the darkened hallway, leaving Kyo standing there with a shocked look. Then, suddenly, he ran down the hallway and yanked Masaki back, slamming her into the wall. He had a fierce look in his eyes. 'Listen to me, runt. There are times when you just have to run. Times when being brave will only cause more death. I know how you feel, having someone's life in danger because of you. But sometimes you just have to _run_.' Then he noticed something hanging on Masaki's wrist that hadn't been there before. 'What's that?' he asked, pointing to the red and white beads hanging from her wrist.

Masaki was still angry over being called 'runt', so she pushed Kyo back roughly and looked at the beads. 'Don't pretend you don't know. You know exactly what these are. _This_ is the reason why everyone always wants to keep me back. They're afraid. Of me.'

'Wait, _you're_ the spirit of the cat now?!'

'Duh, stupid. The curse is broken in _your_ realm, but not _mine_. That's part of the reason I'm not going back home until I solve this. I want this curse broken so I can go home with my mother and father. And, for the record, _you are nothing like my father_. You're some scared boy who ran away from the person who cared about him most instead of doing something. You ran away because Akito told you to, didn't you? You were afraid that the new Akito might actually hurt Tohru. So you packed up your bags and broke Tohru's heart instead of trying to get through it together.'

Kyo looked away, filling Masaki with a sense of triumph. She had hit his sore spot. He turned back to her. 'How did you know?'

Masaki smiled, but it was a condescending smile. 'You think you know everything. You don't. Now if you'll hurry up, I want to go save Kureno. And by the way, Hana-chan isn't the only one who can see things.'

_I don't get it_, thought Kyo as he watched Masaki walk away. _One minute she's a hopeful little girl, and the next she's as vicious as.._Realization hit him. _She's as vicious as I was. But what did she mean when she said that she can see things? I've heard stories about people who were possessed with the spirit of the cat going half insane and claiming to see things..but Masaki doesn't look insane. She just looks confused. But then again, it might be hard to tell the difference._

Just then, there was a shriek and a thump further up in the hallway. Kyo was wrenched out of his thoughts and suddenly realized that he had lost sight of Masaki. Running forward, his heart sank as he sniffed the air and recognized the scent of blood. And _alot_ of it.

'Masaki!' yelled Kyo, rounding the corner into another hallway. This one was wider and more well-lit than the last one was. What he saw made him jump against the wall with shock. At one end of the hallway was Akito, a sword poised in his scaly hand. Towards the middle were Hanajima and Uo, with Uo clutching a hand to a wound in her side. But what Kyo saw closest to him made him scream inside. Lying on the floor was Masaki. But she was different. Kyo looked up quickly and saw that her beads were at the tip of Akito's sword. Which meant..

'Kyo! The beads! Get the beads before she wakes up!' yelled Hanajima, trying to help Uo steady herself.

'Why? If she wakes up, she'll transform and kill Akito! Then we can just put the beads back on her!'

'No! When she wakes up, she won't be the same as you were when you transformed! She'll still look like Masaki, but she won't recognize a friend from an enemy! Her demon will be released!'

Kyo was about to open his mouth to protest again, when a firm hand clamped around his ankle. Bending down, he tried to lift up Masaki, but reeled backwards when he looked into her eyes. They were red, the color of flowing blood. Her skin was unnaturally pale, and her hair was black. Rising from the ground, Kyo could sense a poweful force around her, and it wasn't good. She grinned, revealing knifelike teeth. With a speed that Kyo had never seen before, she reached out and scratched at his neck, giving him only a second to react.

He pushed her backwards quickly, narrowly escaping a fatal would to the throat. An evil laughter filled the air. Akito stepped forward, sword still in hand. 'So this is what has become of the demon that I created? What an angry creature..I think I shall put it out of it's misery.'

Akito moved to plunge the sword into Masaki's back, but Kyo reacted faster. He spun forward and put his food on the flat of the blade, moving it just enough so that it avoided Masaki and made contact with the ground. Kyo crouched so that Akito could not move the sword. 'What did you do to her?!'

'I did nothing! _She_ was cursed the same way _I_ was! All of the hatred and anger of every single cat spirit manifested itself in her spirit when I appeared in her realm. I thought it would make it easier to kill her, but it only made her into this!'

Masaki turned when she heard this, and for a moment, Kyo could actually see some humanity left in her eyes. But it was gone when she looked at Akito. Kyo knew that the Masaki inside of the demon would never forget the hatred towards Akito. She flicked her eyes from Kyo towards the wall, and it took him a moment before he understood. _She's not a monster! She's human on the inside, I know it. She's helping me._

He nodded briskly and counted to three in his head. Then he jumped off of the blade, landing neatly beside Hanajima and Uo, who was starting to lose consciousness. What he heard behind him could only be described as a cry that even the devil could not bear. It was as if all of the hatred in the world was coming together in this last battlecry.

Kyo didn't have to look to know what was happening. He could see it in his mind as he watched Hanajima's face screw up in terror. She shut her eyes tightly, not wanting to see the carnage. There were horrible sounds. Masaki's battlecry was still ringing in her throat, but on top of that there was the sound of tearing skin and the splat of blood hitting the concrete floor.

At last it ended, and Hanajima opened her eyes. Kyo was still facing the wall, terrified to turn around and find death. Behind him, he could only hear the hard breathing of Masaki and the gasping sounds as she sunk to the ground. Finally, he turned around, and immediately wished he hadn't.

Doing his best to step around the remains of Akito without throwing up, he made his way to where Masaki was slouched over on the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that her eyes were no longer red, and her hair was no longer black. But her teeth were still sharpened and dangerous.

'It's okay, Masaki. You're okay now. Just relax.'

There were tears welling up in her eyes. 'I d-did it again, d-didn't I? I h-hurt someb-body..'

In that moment, Kyo saw what Tohru must have seen when his beads were removed. He saw a sad child who had never meant to hurt anyone close to them. _I almost hurt Tohru. I almost tore her apart like Masaki did to Akito._

Hanajima moved to kneel next to Kyo. 'She won't need the beads anymore, now that Akito is gone. Let's go. Uo-chan needs help..and so does Masaki.'


	11. Thirteen Months

**XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXThreeHoursLaterXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX**

Kyo sat in the waiting room, as anxious as he had ever been in his entire life. Finally, Hatori came from the room where Masaki was being held and approached Kyo. Kyo immediately stood up. 'Calm down, Kyo. She'll be fine. But her teeth haven't completely returned to normal, and I don't think they ever will. That's going to be her _only_ reminder of what has happened.'

'What about Tohru?! And Uotani?!'

'Both are going to be fine. Tohru's asking for you.'

'Really?'

'No. But you need to go in and talk to her.'

Kyo nodded, and Hatori moved down the hallway to go check on Uo. _What do I say to her_? thought Kyo frantically. _'Sorry I haven't been around in three years, I was too scared to come back? No, can't say that.._

'Don't think about it,' said a voice behind Kyo. He turned around and saw Hanajima coming out of Uo's room. 'Don't think too much about it. We all know that's not your strong point.'

Kyo thought about making a smart comeback, but thought better of it. 'But I failed, Hanajima. I ran away. I should've stayed to protect her.'

She nodded. 'Yes, you should have. But, even though you didn't, she never stopped loving you.'

'But..'

'No. If you love her, you'll know what to say.'

And Hanajima walked away.

Kyo stood in the hallway for a moment longer, and then walked up confidently to Tohru's door. Knocking firmly, he waiting for an answer. 'Okay, nevermind.' He walked into the room, not even _wanting_ to wait for an answer. He was met with the sight of Tohru reaching over her bed to get the remote from the floor. She was about to fall.

'What are you doing?! You're gonna fall and crack your head open!' yelled Kyo, instantly being reminded of the old times.

Tohru smiled. 'Can you get it?'

Kyo reached down and held the remote out to Tohru. But as she was about to grab it, he pulled his arm back. 'I'm sorry.'

'Huh?'

'I'm sorry, Tohru. For _everything_.'

'Kyo-kun..I already forgave you.'

He looked up and smiled. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Masaki shuffled in, looking at the ground. Kyo could see that her teeth were less noticeable that before, but still sharp. 'Um, Uo-chan told me that Kyonkichi was in here..'

There was dead silence. Kyo's eyes showed annoyance and fury. 'K-kyonkichi?! Did she tell you to call me that!?'

Masaki nodded. Tohru stifled a laugh, while Kyo was ready to go into the other room and knock Uo out of her sickbed. _Damn demon-woman.._

'Um, Kyo?'

'Hm?'

'I'm going home now.'

Tohru gave Masaki a puzzled look. 'Home?'

'Mhm. They're calling me. And Kureno-san is coming with me!'

Kyo was shocked. Now that he thought about it, they hadn't found Kureno in the building when they rescued Masaki. It was like Masaki could read his mind. 'He showed up an hour ago, Hatori said. Akito locked him in a closet and stabbed him through the door, but he didn't die. And he's coming with me cause he doesn't have anyone here. I'm going to get my things, but I'll come back later.'

She started to walk out. But Kyo grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes. 'Masaki, what am I thinking right now?'

She struggled a little bit. 'No, I don't want to say.'

'I know you can read what I'm thinking. What is it.'

'..You're thinking that I've gone insane, like some of the other spirits of the cat.'

'And, is that true?'

'No.'

'No?'

'No. Just because I know things, doesn't mean I'm going crazy. How do you think I knew which realm to come to? What people to look for? I can read emotions more than I can thoughts. It's a gift.'

'From who?'

'The good part of Akito knew that the bad part would come looking for me. So he gave me the gift to help me survive. And it _did_ help.'

Tohru piped up from her bed. 'So he's _still_ helping us.'

Masaki nodded, just as Kureno walked into the room. He bowed his head slightly at Tohru and Kyo, and looked down at Masaki. 'Ready to go?'

'I think so, Kureno-nii.'

She turned back to Tohru and Kyo. 'You don't have to worry much. You'll see me again in..' She closed her eyes and concentrated. 'Thirteen months, four days, and six hours.'

Kyo stood. 'Wait, you're coming back?'

'Not exactly _coming back_. I'll be coming into this realm the _right way_ this time. Through her.' Masaki pointed to Tohru.

It took Kyo a minute to figure out what she meant. 'What do y-OH GOSH. WHAT. SO-SHE-TOHRU'S GONNA-BUT-'

Masaki smiled. 'Bye, Kyonkichi. Goodbye, Tohru. See you in about a year.'

She walked over and grabbed Kureno's hand. He smiled down at her, and then they were gone, in a swirl of light. On the floor where they had been standing, there was a bracelet made of red and white beads.

Neither Masaki nor Kyo would ever need them again.

**Done at lasssst! Reviews, reviews, reviiieeewwwwws! Thanks for everyone who gave suggestions and helped me! I'm working on a new story, so go check it out )**


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